God, my friends are incredibly smart, fast, talented, knowledgeable--whatever it is, they inspire me. I love it. I go to school, thinking everyone is strictly there for education--which may be the case; however, everyone has their own personality, their own talents, their own special side. Every minute of the day, I run into new people, new geniuses.
In math, I am surrounded by both geniuses and perfectionists...
"Ms. Halbur, I need help..." Someone complains.
"What problem?" Ms. Halbur turns around from the fresh white board, a blue Dry Erase marker ready in hand.
"Number 24."
"What is the problem? You're going to need to read it to me..."
"Um... uh... does anyone have the textbook?" The student frantically looks from side to side for any books laying around. No one brings the textbook to school. It's too heavy and we rarely use it in class.
"--If there are two silver dollars and 6 slugs in a paper bag, what is the probability of reaching and grabbing one silver dollar randomly from the paper bag?" My friend sitting behind me reads the problem off of her sheet of homework. Everyone turns to her.
"You write each problem in your homework!? What the hell..."
"What?!"
"Are you serious?!"
"Wow..."
Everyone goes crazy...
"Yeah, why? I always did that," she replies. Jaws drop.
She copies each of the homework problems from the textbook to her folder paper with her answers. Now that's definitely crazy, I tell her. Does she take 5 hours to do math homework?! How does she do that?
I just finished listening to the CD of my friend's band, Los Guapos... I enjoyed listening to it! I couldn't believe that the same person I sat next to every homeroom day was the guitarist. I didn't know my classmate from 8th grade could hit the hardest notes in "All Star" by Smash Mouth. Man, I wish I could sing like that. I wish alot of things...
I like having those moments. As crushed as I may feel, it gives me the drive to try harder and harder. The harder I need to try, the more I stretch my knowledge. [I like what Mr. Schauble said today; how the only way we can improve our reading and writing is to step into the world of "good writers" and observe how they write. Not only must I read more but read texts of a higher level of difficulty to understand. (eg. articles like "The Gift")] I keep in mind that there will always be those who are smarter or better. I can stretch my abilities--maybe not to those of 4.0 students, but like the train of Quality, I'm able to keep going forward, and doing my "best" or my sense of quality in my work and my life will always be changing. I can do anything... bring it on--I'm always up for the challenge.
Right after school, I listened to my friend read through his essay for the Dalai Lama Essay Contest. "You want me to actually listen to your essay?"
"No.... DUH! Just listen, okay?"
"Okay, fine."
He reads his flawless essay and looks back at me. I nod.
"Wow--and you expect me to give you feedback?!" My face is crumpled with awe and hopelessness.
"Well, no--I guess... I just wanted to read it to you."
"Wow. That was good--how am I supposed to write my essay if you're competing against me?"
I shake my head. Damn it...
Let’s Have a Chit-Chat about My CPB, Shall We?
Italics à Friend
Regular à Myself
What is wrong with this composition book? Why is it all thick and crazy-looking? It’s almost like my Kanji notebook.
What? What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong with it. It looks fine! Don’t you like the crinkly pages? It’s because I glued in so many pictures. In fact, check this out—here—look at the cool stuff I added in here. These entries are just some of my thoughts I had throughout the day. It could be things that caught my mind that day too. You should have a book like this. It’s pretty neat since I can look through it whenever I want. I can look back at whatever happened in the past or whatever fascinated me that week.
Wow, now that’s over-achieving… Are you crazy? Why do you like writing in it? I don’t think I would have a time to write that often.
Hm, I guess it’s only if you procrastinate and wait to the last minute to do the journal will it be a possible burden. But it is really cool how I can write anything in it. The coolest thing about it is that the entries are often about what catches my mind, eye, spirit, anything… It isn’t just a plain English assignment. I can write freely about music, the piano, the world, or about you!
Oh, so it’s a diary?
I wouldn’t say it’s just a diary. I guess it may resemble a diary. It’s like a diary, a journal, a gallery, a map, and a library put together. Except it’s your diary, your library… It is of what you think and what you experience, from your perspective. You can add in anything that interests you. You don’t really have any limit. Ah, but during the first week of class, we had to think of three essential questions which we’re supposed to base our entries on.
Essential questions? I thought you said it was more of a free-writing or a free-topic kind of thing? What are your questions anyway?
Well, this book must go somewhere… The essential question, which we write in the front of the notebook is supposed to sort of guide you. I look over them every once in a while and make sure I add something related to it. These questions “carve” out a sculpture of this book. Here, my three questions are: a) what do I need to get an A in school, b) what is it like and what does it take to be a good musician/singer/conductor/listener, and c) what kind of world am I preparing myself for. I couldn’t help but write a question about music and school.
Wow, nice questions. Interesting… So give me an example of an entry. I’m still not getting what you really have to do in this book—with all those essential questions and all…
Let me see. One of my favorite ones, although it’s quite simple of an entry, is titled “Stepping Outside”. I glued in an article from the Newsweek magazine in January. The article is titled “Beliefwatch: Surf’s Up!”. You know how Muslim women have to cover themselves from head to toe? Well, now there’s a swimsuit for them! Imagine that! Look, the suit goes over their head and everything.
Haha! That’s funny… Sucks… So then what did you write about?
Well, I had the same reaction as you. Even I said “that’s funny” and “that’s so sad”, but you know what? I put myself into an American Muslim woman’s shoes. See, my aunty is an American Muslim so I thought of her when I saw this article. The picture definitely caught my eye. I basically wrote about how they finally have a chance to go to the beach! Here in Hawaii, the beach and the sun is easily accessible to us and we don’t really think about how it would be to never swim or never be able to wear shorts or tank tops. I had a weird feeling when I was reading the article, almost as if I felt like I couldn’t do anything or react in any way since I wear shorts and shirts all the time. But I’ve come to realize that we need to be more aware of how our world advances. On this little island, I don’t really pay attention to what girls in other places on the planet have to wear. So it was cool to read about this…
True, you have a point. Wait, how come these pictures don’t have any long paragraphs accompanying it like all of the other pictures?
Not every picture has a long explanation. I mean, these pictures are sometimes supplements to my entries to add color or some variety. Other times, they are my entries and I write a little caption. Like I said before, it’s whatever catches my eye.
Is there any format that you have to apply when you write in this commonplace book? Why is this one typed?
I just write on a new page for every new entry. Nothing different from regular journals, really. Oh yeah, at the top of each entry, I have the date and then the title in blue, sandwiched by ellipses. We can type out entries or we can handwrite it. I find that handwriting entries make it more personal; however, it takes me a long time to write it out so I don’t really have too many elaborate and multiple-page entries. That entry is typed because I just copied and pasted an entry from my online blog.
What? You have an online blog too? Why? What do you write on there? Is that like a Myspace or something? I could do a commonplace book over the web maybe.
Yes, it’s exactly what you said. It’s like a commonplace book over the internet. I write just like I do in my composition commonplace book. But over the internet, I can put in pictures without having to cut and glue anything. Others can freely write comments to any of my entries. I guess you could say it’s like a Myspace, except… it is for journal-like purposes… It isn’t as wacky and slow…
Why do you have both?
I find that I write differently over the internet than I do in the book. I don’t know if it’s having to physically write in a book each and every day or the convenience of the keyboard and fast typing… I was inspired by Mr. Schauble since he keeps both a notebook and an online blog. However; I don’t have enough time on my hands to go and write in both of them each day. Or maybe I do—and I just don’t know it. But when I have a topic to write about and I’m sitting at the computer, I can write for an hour or so. I love it!
That’s crazy! Why did you choose this poem about your dog to put in this entry?
That day we went over the poem “Crow Is Walking” in class. Remember that poem? Well the fact that the crow seems to have a personality in that poem reminded me my pets. I visualized my dog or my cat being the crow and how the author would write if it were my pets walking on the dirt road, trying to speak. So I decided to post the poem inside my commonplace book as well as my poem that I wrote in eighth grade. My poem is basically about how my dog plays into my life, how I have to entertain and feed him everyday, and how much happiness he brings to me.
Man, I’m jealous… I don’t have anything like this…look, you have a nice fat book already, filled with your entries!
No, come on. It’s not fat. Hey, you can do this too! It’s not that hard, you know. Just start now.
I guess…Hey did you talk about me?
What?
I bet I’m in this commonplace book, right? Right?!
Give me that!
What?! I’m not in it?!
Maybe.
Yay! Where?
I’ll show you later. I need to write in it now. I need silence, please.
My Mind Is A Rubberband
http://www.mytraversecity.com/gallery/inspiration.jpg
God, my friends are incredibly smart, fast, talented, knowledgeable--whatever it is, they inspire me. I love it. I go to school, thinking everyone is strictly there for education--which may be the case; however, everyone has their own personality, their own talents, their own special side. Every minute of the day, I run into new people, new geniuses.
In math, I am surrounded by both geniuses and perfectionists...
"Ms. Halbur, I need help..." Someone complains.
"What problem?" Ms. Halbur turns around from the fresh white board, a blue Dry Erase marker ready in hand.
"Number 24."
"What is the problem? You're going to need to read it to me..."
"Um... uh... does anyone have the textbook?" The student frantically looks from side to side for any books laying around. No one brings the textbook to school. It's too heavy and we rarely use it in class.
"--If there are two silver dollars and 6 slugs in a paper bag, what is the probability of reaching and grabbing one silver dollar randomly from the paper bag?" My friend sitting behind me reads the problem off of her sheet of homework. Everyone turns to her.
"You write each problem in your homework!? What the hell..."
"What?!"
"Are you serious?!"
"Wow..."
Everyone goes crazy...
"Yeah, why? I always did that," she replies. Jaws drop.
She copies each of the homework problems from the textbook to her folder paper with her answers. Now that's definitely crazy, I tell her. Does she take 5 hours to do math homework?! How does she do that?
I just finished listening to the CD of my friend's band, Los Guapos... I enjoyed listening to it! I couldn't believe that the same person I sat next to every homeroom day was the guitarist. I didn't know my classmate from 8th grade could hit the hardest notes in "All Star" by Smash Mouth. Man, I wish I could sing like that. I wish alot of things...
I like having those moments. As crushed as I may feel, it gives me the drive to try harder and harder. The harder I need to try, the more I stretch my knowledge. [I like what Mr. Schauble said today; how the only way we can improve our reading and writing is to step into the world of "good writers" and observe how they write. Not only must I read more but read texts of a higher level of difficulty to understand. (eg. articles like "The Gift")] I keep in mind that there will always be those who are smarter or better. I can stretch my abilities--maybe not to those of 4.0 students, but like the train of Quality, I'm able to keep going forward, and doing my "best" or my sense of quality in my work and my life will always be changing. I can do anything... bring it on--I'm always up for the challenge.
Right after school, I listened to my friend read through his essay for the Dalai Lama Essay Contest. "You want me to actually listen to your essay?"
"No.... DUH! Just listen, okay?"
"Okay, fine."
He reads his flawless essay and looks back at me. I nod.
"Wow--and you expect me to give you feedback?!" My face is crumpled with awe and hopelessness.
"Well, no--I guess... I just wanted to read it to you."
"Wow. That was good--how am I supposed to write my essay if you're competing against me?"
I shake my head. Damn it...
Let’s Have a Chit-Chat about My CPB, Shall We?
Italics à Friend
Regular à Myself
What is wrong with this composition book? Why is it all thick and crazy-looking? It’s almost like my Kanji notebook.
What? What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong with it. It looks fine! Don’t you like the crinkly pages? It’s because I glued in so many pictures. In fact, check this out—here—look at the cool stuff I added in here. These entries are just some of my thoughts I had throughout the day. It could be things that caught my mind that day too. You should have a book like this. It’s pretty neat since I can look through it whenever I want. I can look back at whatever happened in the past or whatever fascinated me that week.
Wow, now that’s over-achieving… Are you crazy? Why do you like writing in it? I don’t think I would have a time to write that often.
Hm, I guess it’s only if you procrastinate and wait to the last minute to do the journal will it be a possible burden. But it is really cool how I can write anything in it. The coolest thing about it is that the entries are often about what catches my mind, eye, spirit, anything… It isn’t just a plain English assignment. I can write freely about music, the piano, the world, or about you!
Oh, so it’s a diary?
I wouldn’t say it’s just a diary. I guess it may resemble a diary. It’s like a diary, a journal, a gallery, a map, and a library put together. Except it’s your diary, your library… It is of what you think and what you experience, from your perspective. You can add in anything that interests you. You don’t really have any limit. Ah, but during the first week of class, we had to think of three essential questions which we’re supposed to base our entries on.
Essential questions? I thought you said it was more of a free-writing or a free-topic kind of thing? What are your questions anyway?
Well, this book must go somewhere… The essential question, which we write in the front of the notebook is supposed to sort of guide you. I look over them every once in a while and make sure I add something related to it. These questions “carve” out a sculpture of this book. Here, my three questions are: a) what do I need to get an A in school, b) what is it like and what does it take to be a good musician/singer/conductor/listener, and c) what kind of world am I preparing myself for. I couldn’t help but write a question about music and school.
Wow, nice questions. Interesting… So give me an example of an entry. I’m still not getting what you really have to do in this book—with all those essential questions and all…
Let me see. One of my favorite ones, although it’s quite simple of an entry, is titled “Stepping Outside”. I glued in an article from the Newsweek magazine in January. The article is titled “Beliefwatch: Surf’s Up!”. You know how Muslim women have to cover themselves from head to toe? Well, now there’s a swimsuit for them! Imagine that! Look, the suit goes over their head and everything.
Haha! That’s funny… Sucks… So then what did you write about?
Well, I had the same reaction as you. Even I said “that’s funny” and “that’s so sad”, but you know what? I put myself into an American Muslim woman’s shoes. See, my aunty is an American Muslim so I thought of her when I saw this article. The picture definitely caught my eye. I basically wrote about how they finally have a chance to go to the beach! Here in Hawaii, the beach and the sun is easily accessible to us and we don’t really think about how it would be to never swim or never be able to wear shorts or tank tops. I had a weird feeling when I was reading the article, almost as if I felt like I couldn’t do anything or react in any way since I wear shorts and shirts all the time. But I’ve come to realize that we need to be more aware of how our world advances. On this little island, I don’t really pay attention to what girls in other places on the planet have to wear. So it was cool to read about this…
True, you have a point. Wait, how come these pictures don’t have any long paragraphs accompanying it like all of the other pictures?
Not every picture has a long explanation. I mean, these pictures are sometimes supplements to my entries to add color or some variety. Other times, they are my entries and I write a little caption. Like I said before, it’s whatever catches my eye.
Is there any format that you have to apply when you write in this commonplace book? Why is this one typed?
I just write on a new page for every new entry. Nothing different from regular journals, really. Oh yeah, at the top of each entry, I have the date and then the title in blue, sandwiched by ellipses. We can type out entries or we can handwrite it. I find that handwriting entries make it more personal; however, it takes me a long time to write it out so I don’t really have too many elaborate and multiple-page entries. That entry is typed because I just copied and pasted an entry from my online blog.
What? You have an online blog too? Why? What do you write on there? Is that like a Myspace or something? I could do a commonplace book over the web maybe.
Yes, it’s exactly what you said. It’s like a commonplace book over the internet. I write just like I do in my composition commonplace book. But over the internet, I can put in pictures without having to cut and glue anything. Others can freely write comments to any of my entries. I guess you could say it’s like a Myspace, except… it is for journal-like purposes… It isn’t as wacky and slow…
Why do you have both?
I find that I write differently over the internet than I do in the book. I don’t know if it’s having to physically write in a book each and every day or the convenience of the keyboard and fast typing… I was inspired by Mr. Schauble since he keeps both a notebook and an online blog. However; I don’t have enough time on my hands to go and write in both of them each day. Or maybe I do—and I just don’t know it. But when I have a topic to write about and I’m sitting at the computer, I can write for an hour or so. I love it!
That’s crazy! Why did you choose this poem about your dog to put in this entry?
That day we went over the poem “Crow Is Walking” in class. Remember that poem? Well the fact that the crow seems to have a personality in that poem reminded me my pets. I visualized my dog or my cat being the crow and how the author would write if it were my pets walking on the dirt road, trying to speak. So I decided to post the poem inside my commonplace book as well as my poem that I wrote in eighth grade. My poem is basically about how my dog plays into my life, how I have to entertain and feed him everyday, and how much happiness he brings to me.
Man, I’m jealous… I don’t have anything like this…look, you have a nice fat book already, filled with your entries!
No, come on. It’s not fat. Hey, you can do this too! It’s not that hard, you know. Just start now.
I guess…Hey did you talk about me?
What?
I bet I’m in this commonplace book, right? Right?!
Give me that!
What?! I’m not in it?!
Maybe.
Yay! Where?
I’ll show you later. I need to write in it now. I need silence, please.
Thank you.